While the shot clock might have looked a bit lopsided, the Canucks did what they needed to and stayed perfect on the road these playoffs with a 4-3 win in Edmonton last night. If you missed the game, here are the highlights:
The boys played well through two, and took a 4-2 lead heading into the third period, where they sat back a little too much but did a much better job defending the middle of the ice. The Oilers pressed hard, but didn’t seem as dangerous as their other third period, and were only able to muster one goal in the dying minutes against the sensational Silovs. It was a great road game to take the series lead.
“We just grinded it out,” Tocchet said post game. “They threw a lot at us and made a push and we did a nice job there at the end. Our penalty kill was good because that power play is dynamite. And we made the most of our chances.
“We took away the middle of the ice and they had some stuff, but they (McDavid, Draisaitl) are world class, and there are some things you have to do. I thought we defended well.”
The team blocked 25 shots, but still allowed 45 on target. Silovs was great all night in stopping 42 of them. He’s out-dueling seasoned NHL vets through these series, and the team recognizes that.
“Arty is playing like it’s his net right now,” said Tocchet. “Tonight, he was excellent.”
“Great story,” Joshua said after the game. “He keeps getting better every game. Very confident kid. He puts a lot of confidence in the rest of the group when he's back there and, yeah, he's just handled it like a true professional. He just goes about his business and does his thing.
“We knew that he's a great goalie before he got the chance. But sure, it goes a long way when you see somebody step in and do that well and, like I said, just instilling confidence when he's back there that if there are multiple breakdowns, he's got our back.”
For his part, Silovs is feeling good too. He’s a pretty quiet and humble guy, but seems to be rising to the occasion of being the go-to rookie in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I just felt confident,” said Silovs. “The guys have my back and I needed them today. They were blocking shots against really-high scoring chances and that’s a big credit to them.”
The Canucks did a much better job in front of Silovs, keeping a lot of the Edmonton chances to the outside and boxing out in front. The Oilers seemed to want to go back to the McDavid versus JTM matchup which they dominated last game, but that line was better prepared and held them in check for the night (as much as one can).
“That line dominated us in Game 2 at home and we looked at some film and know they’re probably two of the best players in the world,” said Boeser. “We knew they were going to push back and just believing in our system helped us get the job done.”
“The last two minutes were crazy,” Millers said. “All you’re trying to do is defend the middle and block shots and bear down on your clears. You try not to give up the big ones (shots), but they (McDavid, Draisaitl) are going to ring up the shot clock. We defended harder and closed faster on them and had less separation.”
Overall, it was a better team game, but the Canucks don’t want to keep giving that much room to Edmonton to attack. They might be a one line team, but it’s a dangerous line… though with how well Draisaital played maybe the Oilers try to shift him to his own line so they can get some depth scoring. Either way, the Canucks know they need to play more with the puck, even when they have the lead.
“We didn’t want to defend that much,” Lindholm said. “In the first period, we played well, but when we get a lead like that, we were talking and we wanted to attack more. But that’s just the way this game went.
“I think everyone bought in and did their job and blocked shots and did whatever it took to win this game, so it was huge.”
The Canucks feel like a confident team. Tocc brought a couple young guys into the fold and they weren’t out of place. That speaks volumes to the consistency and messaging throughout the organization. The Canucks have their structure, and it’s working for them.
They look to keep their road record perfect and take a 3-1 series lead Tuesday night. If you listen to the “chatter” coming out of Edmonton, the Canucks “should” be without Soucy for the next game. Personally, I don’t think it was egregious/intentional enough to deserve any supplemental discipline… especially in a series with a few other big non-calls. McDavid was fine after he initiated the stick work, but we’ll see how it unfolds in the next couple days.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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